HUMBOLDT 鈥� Remembrance Day looks different to Colby Hogemann now compared to when he was a kid.
The Afghanistan veteran takes the day off and remembers not just the soldiers who didn鈥檛 make it home, but the ones that are still serving. For him, it is a more important day than his birthday.
鈥淔or me, I just be there, try to remember the best I can for guys that I know who lost their lives while I was there... I still have lots of friends who are still in. I have an ex-roommate, he鈥檚 in Jordan. I鈥檒l remember him until he comes home.鈥�
Coming out of high school, Hogemann didn鈥檛 know what he wanted to do. He knew he did not want to go into post-secondary education and he heard about military opportunities through a teacher鈥檚 husband.
Hogemann spent a year and a half in the reserves before serving in Afghanistan, driving a tank for five years with the Lord Strathcona鈥檚 Horse Royal Canadians before coming home.
For him, the military offered him structure, leadership, family, and the ability to work towards what you want.
鈥淚 think I got that quality from the military because you strive for things you really want to do. If you strive to be a master corporal, you into your courses, you have to be top notch on your courses to get the division.鈥�
Being part of the military were the best years of his life, Hogemann said but he also had to deal with being away from family and friends for months at a time. That took its toll.
鈥淵ou miss a lot of things in people鈥檚 lives. That was probably the hardest part.鈥�
Hogemann is open about what he鈥檚 seen. He said living through five years in Afghanistan, especially as the lead call-sign, means you have to push the difficult thoughts into the back of your mind.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 it for everybody. You put it into the back of your minds, do your job, and then everybody will come home. The worst can happen but you can鈥檛 think about that 24/7 or you鈥檙e not going to do your job and you might make a mistake.鈥�
Going through something like that, he said, you understand the importance of Remembrance Day.
鈥淏ack then, you were told what it was and why it existed, but, as a kid, you don鈥檛 really fully understand until you get older; the conflicts they went through and reading about their history.鈥�
During that time, Hogemann also did not have anyone he knew in the military, he added. He knows that Remembrance Day is different for his nieces and nephews since their uncle gives them that connection.
